Revered architect Pietro Belluschi’s last residence has been studied, copied and awarded. But no one on the planet knows this Northwest Regional mid-century modern better than Pietro’s son, architect Anthony Belluschi, who now owns the famous hilltop house with his wife, Marti.

Pietro Belluschi's design philosophy

“Today’s need for economy makes us avoid pompously designed monuments, and in so doing we have found that much significance can be imparted to simple materials such as wood or brick, and much warmth and feeling may be achieved by the judicious use of such intangibles as space, light, texture and color…" -- Pietro Belluschi, 1950

Anthony Belluschi received Restore Oregon’s 2013 DeMuro Award for preserving, restoring and expanding the meticulous engineered and crafted 1948 single-story home his father created at the end of a ridge in Portland's West Hills.

Revolutionary at the time, Pietro employed native wood and glass to frame the city skyline that he eventually helped shape with office towers, museums and churches.

It is incredibly poignant that Pietro spent his last years here, before passing away at 94 in 1994, and that his son and daughter-in-law refinished wood, replaced worn floors and made modifications that the family, modernists and architecture experts agree would have been approved by the exacting Pietro Belluschi.

No one but Anthony had the intimate knowledge to carefully renovate and expand this celebrated dwelling to complement his father’s vision.

Drawing from conversations the two had decades ago, Anthony conceived of ways to upgrade the kitchen, wiring, plumbing and insulation as well as improve the master bedroom and expand the house by 1,200 square feet.

Anthony converted an original breezeway with a trellis into an elongated gallery with a skylight that gracefully joins the old with the new.

The white-walled gallery has an original cedar side door that opens to the house’s existing master bedroom and library. On the other side of the gallery is a concealed white door that leads to the new multipurpose media room with guest quarters and a loft space. Shoji screens are a design link to the new Japanese-style gardens.

Changes took place over three years and in stages.

Restoration lessons

Anthony and Marti Belluschi offered these thoughts about taking on a restoration project:

Start with a solid, well-built structure with good bones.

Have a logical reason for restoring, preserving and reusing the property.

Hire the best possible craftsmen and women, particularly if there is historic value to the structure. Look at examples of their other restoration work.

Do not give the work strictly to the lowest bidder. Find someone who shares your vision and is forthright in the estimate of time and costs. Update the schedule frequently.

Have a clear financial understanding of the work to be done and expect that it will cost more and take longer.

Be patient and have faith that the project will eventually be completed and be worthy of the time and expense.

At Pietro’s widow’s request, Anthony made much-needed repairs to the roof and interior, and then began the process of a thoughtful renewal.

When his stepmother passed away in 2009, Anthony and Marti continued to oversee the restoration project by dividing their life between their Chicago home and here. The Portland house was emptied and the couple lived for 18 months in a light-filled, efficient guesthouse that Anthony designed in a corner of the property.

Near the entrance to the main house, Anthony created a garage compatible with the original exterior by enclosing the carport. The darkened cedar siding was restored to its original light color.

In the expansive living room, craftsmen refinished the original Noble fir ceiling, which extends past glass walls as outside overhangs, a feat that still impresses architects.

The kitchen was gutted and then updated; new cabinets were modeled after the original ones. A brick rotisserie oven, as seen in Sunset magazine in 1955, remains the same.

The basket-weave ceiling in the master bedroom was made with a mix of leftover cedar and at least five other types of wood that were thinly cut and woven together. Time and climate had mottled the finish, which has now been refurbished.

The master bath has always been dramatic, with its step-down Roman bath, Owens Corning burgundy- and gray-glass clad walls and tile floor. Now, viewable through a tall window, is a new Japanese garden.

Anthony and Marti Belluschi worked with Takashi Fukuda to create a Japanese-style landscape that reflects the home’s clean lines, natural materials and other Asian architectural influences.

Anthony and Marti are proud of the “rebirth” of their family’s home. Although they didn’t want to live in a museum, as caretakers, they believe it was vital that the restoration and additions were historically sensitive.

The DeMuro Award recognizes their efforts.

“The Burkes-Belluschi House is significant because it was the Modern Maestro’s own Portland home,” says Peggy Moretti, director of Restore Oregon, the nonprofit founded in 1977 as the Historic Preservation League of Oregon. “It received the DeMuro Award because it has been so beautifully preserved and expanded.”

The restoration, says Moretti, is an outstanding example of careful craftsmanship. But the award also acknowledges Anthony’s design of a compatible addition, guesthouse and subtle updates to the home.

“The home is also remarkable because Pietro’s aesthetic was so perfectly and gracefully carried forward by his son,” she says.